Primary Menu

six healthy things

in february, i decided to really buckle down and try to lose about 10 pounds. getting stronger was also part of the goal, since i knew a lot of my back, shoulder, and neck pain was due to the fact that i had almost no core or upper body strength. i forgot, however, that when i strength-train, or just work out a lot, i tend to gain weight. aaack! so now i’m a couple months in to adjusting my eating habits as well. really tough, since i have almost no willpower when it comes to food. so, this post is all about the six things i’m totally relying on to help me reach my goal…

1. the vitamix! one of the best kitchen investments ever. you can do completely unhealthy things with it too, like make frozen margaritas and cream-based soups, but i use it for my morning green smoothie. i’ve also made hummus, tapenade, pesto, and salad dressings in it. works like a dream, and i use it every morning for that smoothie.

2. & 3. for the purpose of this post, these two – rice cakes and avocados – go hand in hand, but they don’t have to. one of the stylists i work with turned me onto this combo. it’s so much lighter than everyone’s favorite lunch, avocado on toast. i treat the avocado the same was as if i was putting it on toast- slice, place on top of rice cake, drizzle with sea salt & pepper, red chili flake, lemon, and olive oil. avocados are a dream on their own, too – i add half of one to my morning smoothie, and find use for the other half in that day’s lunch or dinner. and the rice cakes from Lundberg are great – they come in lots of flavors and most have just two or three ingredients. that i can pronounce! they’re also great with a schmear of almond butter or hummus. basically, they are the perfect alternative to bread, crackers, and chips – stuff i used to eat way too much of.

4. kale. oh i know, it’s so ubiquitous now. but totally delicious and filling, plus eating it will make you feel super righteous. i either braise it with beans (like this) for lunch or add it to that green morning smoothing.

5. megaformer class at Brooklyn Bodyburn. the best workout EVER. for the first time in my adult life, i’m starting to have visible abdominal muscles. do you know what was there before? abdominal rolls. i’m serious. this is a completely addictive exercise that engages the entire body, and the studio i go to has great instructors and a killer playlist.

6. tera’s whey grass-fed, unflavored, unsweetened protein powder. if you’re not into that soy isolate crap and hate the chalky fake taste that literally every other protein powder on the market imparts to a smoothie, try this one. i love that it’s unflavored and adds 22 grams of grass-fed whey protein to whatever i’m making. i add it to my green smoothie (last time i’m mentioning the green smoothie, i swear) and it literally adds no taste. but if you want a flavored version, they do offer those, too. i’ve added their bourbon-vanilla protein powder to fruit and yogurt based smoothies, and it was great.

okay, so there are my six little healthy things. i’d feel derailed if these things were suddenly gone from my life. what about you? any health-helpers you’d feel lost without?